


The Ghost of Me

by chaoticallycanon



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Number Five | The Boy, Angst, Cece also needs a hug, Cece finds herself, Character Development, Childhood Trauma, Enemies to Friends to Lovers, Enemies to Lovers, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Five finds himself, Five is eighteen, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Heavy Angst, Number Five | The Boy Has Issues, Number Five | The Boy Needs A Hug, Slow Burn, currently canon compliant, five doesn't understand emotions, i try to keep five as in character as possible, like veeery slow, no mary sue
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-04
Updated: 2020-11-12
Packaged: 2021-03-08 04:08:14
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 7,849
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26809384
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoticallycanon/pseuds/chaoticallycanon
Summary: "A Belladonna should hold themselves with confidence, grace, and power. Anything less would be an insult to our family name, and you do not want to insult the family, do you, Cecilia?"---Cecilia Jade Belladonna, born on October 1st, 1989; though you wouldn't be able to tell if you'd seen her. She spent her whole life groomed as a tool for her family's business, The Belladonna Family Empire. After being kept cryogenically frozen, as a measure to ensure her youthful appearance, Cece gets tasked with the elimination of Luther and Diego Hargreeves. Of course, the Hargreeves are nothing if not (reckless) inspiring.After escaping her imprisonment, Cece must discover who she is and work to fix the damage done by her family. Coincidently, Five has quite similar problems to overcome.---This is set after seasons 1&2, where the Hargreeves were able to prevent doomsday! Therefore, no one but them (and the Commission) remember the apocalypse.
Relationships: Diego Hargreeves/Lila Pitts, Number Five | The Boy & The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy), Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Everyone, Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy) & Original Character(s), Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)/Original Female Character(s), Number Five | The Boy (Umbrella Academy)/Reader, Original Female Character(s)/Original Male Characters - Relationship, The Hargreeves (Umbrella Academy) & Original Female Character(s), The Hargreeves Family
Comments: 10
Kudos: 44





	1. Childhood Trauma is Quite Common Among Superheroes

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is a backgound story that delves into the events that resulted in Cece's birth.  
> Song for chapter: Deviltown by Cavetown  
> Word Count: 2.3k

On the evening of March 23rd, 1988, Blaine Belladonna was on the way to his family estate; drunk to no end, and desperately imagining all the ways in which he could fall from the face of the Earth. Walking, or more accurately, stumbling around the snowy New York streets, he came across a beacon of neon purple shining through the dark smog- 

EXOTIC DANCERS-ALL NUDE AND ALL YOURS 

TONIGHT ONLY 

With a fleeting thought about how this must be how Gatsby felt with his damned green light, Blaine entered the club. Immediately his vision was blinded by a flashing disco ball and manufactured fog, not that he minded. Taking his seat in the front row and calling over a waitress to bring a bottle of the most potent alcohol from the top shelf, Blaine watched as the next performer was announced. 

“Get ready for our newest addition, little miss India Rose! This sexy little thing will surely get wild for the right price! Let’s show her how we do it here at Club Canola, gentlemen!” 

A petite woman with dark onyx hair stepped out from behind the curtain, shaking like a wet dog, and mimicking Blaine’s look from earlier. She too seemed to be dreaming of all the ways to fall from Earth. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

India Rose Faris had never been more terrified in her life, nor had she ever been more ashamed though, either. Had it not been for her deadbeat father leaving her mother with his accumulated debt, India never would have stepped foot in a club like this, let alone danced in one. She fleetingly reconsidered selling her internal organs, before finally stepping out onto stage. 

The light was much too bright, the fog smothering, and the sequins from her sky-blue bikini were chafing her thighs. This was what she ultimately decided to focus on throughout her dance, as it seemed infinitely more appealing than thinking about the pervy men hiding out from their wives, who should probably leave them, now that it crosses her mind. 

She caught a glance of a younger man, around her age maybe, sitting in the front row. He seemed just as depressed about being here as she did, and at the last minute, she figured she would introduce herself. 

Walking up to him, she noticed he was dressed in a wrinkled white suit and his hair was a pale blonde to match. His black vest was unbuttoned, and he looked as if he’d been struggling to dress himself that morning. 

“Hey there, ya lookin for a dance?” India cringed internally at the sound of her voice but kept a straight face. 

The man smirked, “Is that you really asking? Or just playin the part?” 

India paused, confused for a moment that he could see right through her, before replying in a bitter snap, “I could ask you the same thing ya’ know. You don’t seem to wanna be here, so why don’tcha just leave then?” 

“Because if I leave, I have to go back to my life. And trust me, nobody wants that.” 

India stared at the man, caught somewhere in-between being weirded out, and intrigued. 

“I’m India, I suppose it’s nice to meet someone who just might be even more bummed out than me.” She went with intrigued. 

“Blaine.” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“Wait, so you’re tellin me that your daddy is a kingpin, and you’re suppos’ta take over the business for ‘em? And you don’t wanna? And that’s why you’re all mopey in a dirty ol’ place like this?” After a couple hours of shots and sad family-related discussions, India was starting to understand why you should not converse with the customers. 

“Yeah, well when being in charge means hurting people the way he does, you don’t really look forward to it. Besides, my brother Byron is just a few years younger than me, and more than willing to continue the family business. I don’t understand why it has to be me.” Perhaps telling all this to a random stripper was a bad idea, but frankly Blaine was much too intoxicated to give a shit. 

Or perhaps it was the fact that she wasn’t a stranger anymore. She was India Rose Faris, eighteen years old and trying to pay off her father’s debt to a loan shark. She wanted to be an actress one day and move her mother out to California, she loved strawberry pie and hated pickles. Her favorite color was orange, and her eyes were pale green. And Blaine thought that maybe she was the most real person he had ever met. 

“So how come ya don’t just run off then? Leave and never come back.” 

Blaine chuckled, “What part of The Belladonna Family Empire did you not get? Emphasis on the empire part. You can’t just run from it, it’ll always follow. My best bet is to just be a horrible successor until my father inevitably gives up on me. Until then, I enjoy the money and try my damndest to disappoint him.” 

That made India pause. If he came from money than surely, he could help her out right? They had been getting along quite well anyway, and she would do anything to get away from this grubby club. 

“Maybe you should try though. Overseeing a mafia seems pretty fun, not to mention powerful. And hey, if ya want, I’ll stick right by ya through it all. I mean, we’re friends now, right?” And with a bat of her eyelashes to a man much to desperate for a friend, she was in. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

October 1st, 1989 

11:55am 

The ring on India’s left hand glimmered under the fluorescent light of the warehouse. She stood along the back-wall with Byron as Blaine and Mr. Belladonna interrogated the poor French man suspected of undermining their latest drop. 

If she was being honest, this part of the process disgusted her, but the power and money given to her by it, well it made her able to easily look the other way. Being with Blaine was the best thing to ever happen to her. She was dressed in the finest clothes, had the most expensive accessories, she had the life she’d always wanted. Her methods were unorthodox sure, but she deserved it, after everything her shitbag father did to her. 

Her thoughts were interrupted of course, by the screams of a man just having his throat slashed. 

“Fucking took them long enough,” Byron muttered next to her, “Let’s get the hell out of here.” 

But India was unable to move, even when Byron tried to drag her off, and even when Blaine approached to ask her what was wrong. 

No, India was much more focused on the excruciating pain erupting from her abdomen, which had also suddenly inflated like a beach ball. In a blur, India was laid down on the concrete floor while Blaine held her head in his lap. Between her legs she could feel a rush of blood and liquid release from her body and an intense urge to push. 

Suddenly, she was surrounded by the Belladonna family. Ruby, Blaine’s extremely horrid mother, who had been standing at the wall opposite her, came to kneel between her legs. She muttered something to her husband and Byron, and suddenly they brought over towels and rubbing alcohol that were originally meant for the other bloody mess in the room. 

The urge was too hard to ignore at this point, and honestly India just wanted this whole fiasco to be over with. So, she pushed through the excruciating contractions, silently cursing Ruby whenever she lectured her about breathing. She screamed during every push, ignoring Byron’s dirty looks, and tried to focus on Blaine. He whispered praise into her ear and stroked her hair while she birthed a mystery child. 

The entire endeavor only took about twenty minutes, though for everyone involved it felt more like decades. Finally, a wail sounded throughout the chilly warehouse, and a healthy baby girl had been born. Cecilia Jade Belladonna, a miracle baby. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

October 1st, 1991 

India had thought her life was perfect after meeting Blaine, but she had been sorely mistaken. Holding her daughter’s hand as she blew out the two candles India had smushed into a cupcake made her truly understand. Cece was who made her life perfect. Her little miracle girl, the light of her life, the one person she really loved. 

The storage closet they hid in was stuffy, but a necessity if they wanted to celebrate. India regrets pushing Blaine to become like his father. She had thought the money made it worthwhile, but watching a good man become driven by power, to the point where he disregards his daughter completely disgusted her. And now that Cece was two, it terrified her. 

India knew this day was coming, ever since Cece’s birth they had spoken about turning her into a tool for the company. A baby randomly conceived would no doubt be special, would be able to take out certain previously thought unattainable targets. But India loved Cece and she would rather be dead than let that shitty family turn her daughter into a killing machine. 

She had a plan, all she had to do was play it safe until nightfall, and then her and Cece would be safe again. But of course, when does anything ever go according to plan? 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

Blaine was sitting at his dark mahogany desk when his father walked in the office. 

“Son, we have an issue regarding your little hooker friend.” 

Blaine hated that Baxter still called India that, seeing as they were married and had a child, but of course he never corrected him. 

“And what would that be father, has she actually done something or is mother just complaining over her ‘lack of respect’ again?” 

“She is planning on leaving, tonight. Byron overheard her on the phone talking about taking Cecilia and ‘getting out of this insane family.’ I cannot let her take our weapon away from us Blaine, and we cannot allow any further attempts.” 

Blaine was struck. There was no way India would leave him and take his daughter. He had done everything she’d asked. He stepped up to the plate and took over the business, he bought her everything she ever wanted. He loved her. 

“You’re wrong. India would never do that; Byron must be lying.” 

“If you don’t believe me, ask her yourself.” 

The door to the office slammed against the wall when it was thrown open, Byron stormed in dragging a sobbing India by her arm behind him. His mother followed closely after, holding Cece in her arms. 

“Found this little bitch hiding in the closet with your daughter, no doubt trying to lay low before her escape.” Byron sneered, throwing India to her knees in front of the desk. 

“Blaine, baby, please ya have to listen. I wasn't hiding, I swear! We were just celebrating her birthday. You know I wouldn't run from ya! I love you Blainey, ya know that!” India pleaded between sobs, terrified for her daughter. 

A smack rang out through the room as Baxter slapped India across the face, causing her to fall to the ground. Byron chuckled and looked towards Blaine; who could only stand silently staring at his wife. 

“No one ever said you were going to run, sweetheart.” Byron smirked evilly, as India looked horrified. 

“No, o-of course not, I just thoug-” India was cut off by another slap, this one from Byron. 

“Is it true? You were planning to run from me? From us?” Blaine finally spoke up, staring at India is disbelief. 

India was silent for a moment, before realizing it wasn’t a rhetorical question. 

“You guys ‘re plannin on makin my baby into an assassin! I can’t let ya do that to ‘er! I haveta leave, baby, it’s not you, I swear! I love you Blainey, but I can’t let ya hurt Cece.” 

Blaine stared blankly at her before snapping, “You’re planning on leaving me? After everything I've done for you? I gave you everything you ever asked me for, and you think you can just leave and take my daughter away from me? I don’t fucking think so.” Blaine had rounded the desk and came to stand in front of India. 

“Son, we cannot allow her to attempt this again. She has caused way too many problems for this family, for you. It’s time to do what should have been done a long time ago.” Baxter spoke up, coming to stand next to his son, and pulled out a pistol. 

“Here, solve this problem for us, will ya son?” 

Blaine looked at his father, and then back to India before grabbing the gun. 

“No, Blaine please! Don’t do this baby, I love you! I won’t try ta leave again, I swear! We can go back to being a happy family again! Mr. Belladonna please, I’m tha one that talked Blaine into taking this seriously, ya owe me! Please don-” 

A shot interrupted her and startled Cece, making her start to cry. Ruby walked out with the child, taking her to begin her training. Baxter motioned for Byron to drag India out of the room, and then turned to his other son. 

“Good job. It was time we cleaned the dirty blood from this house. Now we can begin developing Cecilia’s true abilities.” And with that, he followed Byron out of the door. 

Blaine stood, staring at the blood stain where his wife used to be, and he finally felt like he had discovered the secret. The way to fall off the face of the Earth was to lose oneself completely, and to do that, all you must do is lose your reason for living.


	2. Homeschool Isn't all it's Cracked Up to Be

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cece's childhood.  
> Song Choice: Dollhouse by Melanie Martinez  
> Word Count: 2.5k

September 13th, 1996. 

The piercing scream of a gym whistle flew through the dry air of the Belladonna Family Estate’s ballroom, though the shrewd voice that followed was arguably worse. 

“Again. Your form is dreadful. A ballerina holds herself with grace and elegance, and more importantly, a Belladonna does. Failure to correctly execute this routine a fourth time will result in punishment Cecilia.” 

“Yes, Grandmother.” Cece’s voice exposed the obvious fatigue plaguing her body as she hurriedly raised back up on her bruised toes. 

The hauntingly beautiful sound of classical music filled the air once more, as Cece went about the room doing picture-perfect pirouettes and grand jetés. Her legs kept straight, her toes always pointed, and her chin held high. Every time she passed her grandmother; however, she saw her ever-present scowl. Not that this bothered her, she had long-since given up trying to impress any member of her family and instead braced herself for the inevitable punishment. 

By the end of the routine, Cece could only focus on her sore toes and the healing stripes across her back from yesterday’s piano “lesson.” 

“If you call that elegance then I should inform the family that you’re even more of a disappointment than I originally thought. No dancer worth her stars would look like such a clumsy fool. I am embarrassed that you carry my name.” Ruby Belladonna croaked out, already approaching Cece with her switch in hand. 

“My apologies Grandmother, I will try harder not to disappoint you tomorrow.” At this point, Cece just wanted training to be over with, ready to curl up in her little bed and sleep. Thankfully, ballet was the last lesson for today. 

“I have learnt not to get my hopes up with you.” 

Ruby’s sentence was punctuated by the stinging slap of leather across a six-year-old's face. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

May 11th, 2002 

Cece stared up at the ceiling of the basement floor while lying sprawled out on the black mats covering the ground. Her Uncle Byron stood a few feet away gulping water down like a greedy predatory lion. 

“Get up. We don’t get to quit until you can last at least three minutes against me, and frankly, I have stuff to do tonight.” 

“Like what? Jacking it to a picture of my father’s desk?” Cece regretted it the moment the words spilt from her lips. The long day of lessons with Ruby, combined with the past three hours of beatings she’d received from Byron, made her delirious and irritable. 

The silence that followed was deafening and Cece knew she was in for a classic Byron Blowup, as she’d dubbed them. 

“What did you say to me, you little bitch?” Byron came to stand at Cece’s feet, glaring down at her with abhorrence. 

“N-nothing, Uncle Byron. I’m sorry, I must just be tired, I’m-” Cece was interrupted by Byron yanking her up by her blonde hair. 

“You know if it wasn’t for your whore mother, I’d be in that seat right now. Your father was a fuck-up our whole life and dad was just about to give up on him. He never had the balls to run this business and it was DESTINED to be mine. But then,” He ripped Cece up farther until she was eye-level with him, her toes barely grazing the floor, “then your little stripper mother convinced him to step up. All for the fortune, of course, that was obvious to everyone but my dumbass brother.” 

Byron let Cece go and she fell to the ground, clutching her tender head. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of her mother, though she knew not to let them fall. 

“Thank god your mother got what she deserved, but that doesn’t change the fact that she cost me my legacy. So, in the meantime,” Byron got into a fight stance, “I’ll just have to settle for beating the shit out of her pathetic daughter.” 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

December 28th, 2007 

The chill of the winter wind bit into Cece’s porcelain skin as she walked up the cobblestone path to the mansion’s front door. The burgundy velvet of her long dress was soft against the scrapes that littered her arms. She was grateful for her Grandma Ruby for once, the color of the dress hid the bloodstains that inevitably covered the dress. 

She glanced up at the night sky, her eyelashes catching snowflakes like a bee collecting pollen. Her mocha eyes gazed upon the stars that were scattered across a sea of noire ink. Briefly, she recalled a story her father had told her once as a child, before he had completely shut her out to focus on the family business. 

“Stars are dreams that have come true. That’s why you are supposed to wish upon them, they’re lucky. If you wish hard enough, the stars will bless your dreams and let them live up there alongside the other lucky ones.” 

It was bullshit, obviously, but that never stopped Cece from looking up and muttering a wish to escape from her life and live in the sky. 

When she opened the white and gold grand front doors, her entire family was gathered in the foyer whispering amongst themselves. Though they immediately silenced when they saw her enter. 

“I take it your assignment was a success.” Her grandmother stated. 

Cece had left earlier that evening to go to a Christmas ball. The event was high-society only and the perfect place to gather information on Mr. John Becker, a wealthy New York Senator with sticky fingers. 

“Yes, Grandmother. I have evidence that shows Mr. Becker’s deals with other politicians and law enforcement, along with some fun news that he has a mistress and forced her to abort their lovechild.” Cece spoke up with pride. 

She was actually quite impressed with herself tonight. The goal was to get evidence to ruin Mr. Becker’s re-election, as punishment for withholding money from the Belladonna’s, who had pulled strings to get him into office in the first place. They needed to expose him without exposing themselves, and Cece undoubtedly went above and beyond. 

Though as she looked down the line of her family, she could tell they weren’t impressed. 

“Then why, pray tell, are you covered in blood?” Ruby scolded. 

“Oh, that, yeah it’s nothing. I had to escape through the woods outside the hotel. Some security guards realized I wasn’t on the guest list. But no worries, I got away before they even knew what I’d looked like.” Cece rushed to explain, hopefully avoiding another lecture. 

Her grandfather scoffed and smoothed out his dark grey suit, his cigar ashes falling to the cold marble floor as he removed it to speak. 

“You should have never gotten to the point where you had to escape at all, Cecilia.” 

Cece simply nodded and looked at the floor. 

“Now come, we have decided on new sleeping arrangements for you.” 

Cece snapped her head up to look at her grandfather, who was already walking away. The rest of her family followed him and Cece sprinted to keep up, utterly shocked at the situation. Were they finally going to give her a room upstairs? And why now, she could have sworn they were disappointed in her clumsiness from tonight. Either way, she followed as they led her down the basement steps, through a metal door in the back, down a flight of cement stairs, and down a long narrow hallway to a single door. 

Inside the room was a metal table and cabinets, filled with various medical supplies, though Cece was focused on what lie in the center of the room. There, under the dingy fluorescent lights was an upright tube-shaped chamber of some sort. It was metal, with a glass window looking in on a headrest. Cece imagined it was what astronauts slept in whilst in space. 

“This will be where you reside from now on Cecilia. We have decided to prolong your usefulness for as long as possible. I’m afraid, beyond any of our wishes, you have simply become too important to this family. Your powers and training make for a formidable assassin.” Her grandfather begun to prepare a syringe. 

Cece’s mind ran rapid, confused at what he was implying. 

“What he’s saying is that we have built this room to cryogenically freeze you, until you are needed of course. Now that you are eighteen, we feel it is best to keep you young for as long as we deem necessary.” Ruby piped up while glaring at Cece from against the door behind her. 

“W-what? No! No, I don’t want to be asleep until I’m needed! Is this punishment for tonight? I swear I’ll do better but don-” Cece tried to use her powers to escape, but got interrupted by Byron grabbing her from behind while her grandfather injected her with a sedative. 

“Now, now Cecilia. Just cooperate and everything will go much more smoothly for us all.” Baxter murmured as he tossed the needle into a waste container. 

“No please, don’t, dad! Stop them!” 

Blaine just stared blankly at his daughter before opening the chamber and motioning for Byron to lay her inside. 

The last thing Cece remembers was looking out through the little window at her family and wondering if the stars had heard her wish that night. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

July 3rd, 2019 

The rush of warm air is always the first thing Cece feels when she gets awoken. The first thing she sees is Byron, motioning for her to get up and follow him after injecting her with various needles to wake her muscles up. Originally, Grandpa Baxter was the one to unfreeze and refreeze her, though he had died in 2011. She wasn’t awake for the funeral, not that she minded. They had told her in the summer of 2013 when they needed her to kill a group of FBI agents who’d been digging too close to things they shouldn’t. 

As she took the journey upstairs behind Byron, she wondered how long it had been this time. She never knew how different the world would look when she woke up next. Sometimes there were only weeks between missions, other times years. She remembered them all though, 

August 20th, 2008- Investigate, discover, and eliminate the mole within the Belladonna Empire. 

November 15th, 2009- Eliminate the family of a politician as a message to stop trying to expose the Belladonna Empire to the public. 

February 27th, 2010- Seduce and blackmail the leader of a rival gang. 

June 5th, 2013- Eliminate a squad of FBI agents to stop them from discovering information about the Belladonnas. 

January 11th, 2014- Burn down a government research facility and destroy any information inside on the Belladonna Empire. 

May 4th, 2014- Drop off an important package to a business partner and eliminate anyone who tries to intercept the delivery. 

April 21st, 2015- Infiltrate the British government and find classified information on the Royal Family. 

September 19th, 2015- Eliminate a famous actor as a public diversion. 

March 19th, 2017- Eliminate the entire Diadres family and take their business deals for the Belladonna Empire 

June 23rd, 2017- Eliminate any remaining members of the Kennedy family. 

October 9th, 2017- Interrogate an ex-Belladonna employee and discover if they’ve given any secrets away, use any means necessary. 

“Today’s date is July 3rd, 2019. We need you to locate and eliminate Luther and Diego Hargreeves.” Cece’s thoughts were interrupted by Byron’s deep voice, making her realize they had made it to the conference room on the second floor, 

She looked around the long mahogany table and saw her father sitting in the head seat, his pale blonde hair had grey streaks in it now. Her grandmother was sadly still kicking, though she looked frailer than the last time Cece had seen her. Every time Cece wakes up she hopes Ruby will finally join Baxter in hell. Uncle Byron also looked noticeably older, though he still wore the scent of alcohol on his breath and there seemed to be a few new tattoos on his arms. 

The screen behind her father lit up with the pictures of two handsome men, one big and blonde, and one mysterious and brooding. 

“These are the two brothers you must kill. They are the members of that Umbrella Academy; you might remember them.” Her father explained dully. 

Cece did in fact remember the Umbrella Academy, considering they were all just like her, born randomly and with powers. They were also the only group of people she ever remembers her family being nervous about. 

“They have recently decided to get the gang back together. That old shit, Reginald, I believe, just kicked the bucket a couple months back and the whole family got together again. Now those two fucks have decided to go back to fighting crime like two shittier versions of Starsky and Hutch.” Byron lamented. 

“Yes, thankfully they seem to be the only two that care about the superhero facade. Allison has moved back to California and the depressed ordinary one doesn’t seem to involve herself with the hero work.” Ruby interjected. 

“Same with the drugged-up one, he resides at the Academy with Luther and Diego, but has yet to partake in any missions with them. From what our intel says, he doesn’t care much for fighting and shouldn’t be any threat.” Blaine looked at his daughter and saw India, causing him to hesitate his speech, but he quickly looked down and continued. 

“From what we can tell the only one you will have to worry about is Number Five.” 

Cece was confused and wondered if the ice was damaging her memory because she clearly remembered the day Sir Reginald Hargreeves announced to the world that one of his children had gone missing. 

“I thought Number Five went missing in 2002. Why would he be a threat now?” Cece voiced her confusion. 

“He’s back. God only knows how he is, but he is. Came back right after the death of pops and lives at the Academy with his brothers. Looks like a teen too, not even the same age as the others. We don’t know why he stays at the Academy, but we do know he hasn’t been going all vigilante with the other two idiots.” Byron spoke as he poured himself another scotch. 

“Though that doesn’t mean you should ignore him, quite the opposite actually. You must take out his brothers when he’s not around. From what we’ve seen, he isn’t a force to be taken lightly.” Her father informed her. 

“Definitely not, the kid is totally unhinged. Like a goddamn feral cat, that one.” Byron chuckled. 

A picture of a teenage boy, around her age probably, came up on the screen in front of her. His hair was dark, almost black, and he wore the Umbrella Academy Uniform. He was thin, but she could see the threat in his eyes. Like he’d done things no one could ever imagine. 

Of course, Cece could because she’d done them too.


	3. And Everybody was Con-fused Fighting

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cece's Mission.  
> Word Count: 3k  
> Song Choice: Lonely by Billie Eilish & Khalid

Cece watched herself in the mirror as her grandmother braided her long blonde hair into two twin Dutch braids going down the back of her skull. She had spent the day being prepped and informed on the whereabouts of the two Hargreeves brothers. Her family had prepared a faux robbery at a local convenience store, taking place at seven-thirty that evening. The plan was to draw Luther and Diego out to the robbery and take them out when they arrived to disarm the “thieves.” 

For the first time in a long time, Cece was nervous. Not because she thought that she may fail, Cece was confident the two brothers were pure himbo and very easily outsmarted, but because she had always wanted to meet the members of the Umbrella Academy. Ideally not under such circumstances, but it would still be nice to be near someone like herself. She wondered if she would have the time to ask them a few questions, maybe get an autograph, before she mowed them down. 

“Go and finish getting ready, and make sure to look presentable. A Belladonna should always look their best, especially when going into combat.” Her grandmother snarled as she finished Cece’s braids. 

Cece simply nodded and took off down the hall to her old bedroom, where all her clothes were still kept. She tried to walk slowly, knowing what was waiting for her after the mission was completed. Cece always tried to prolong missions, grasping at the chance of taking just one more breath of fresh air before succumbing to the dark again. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

This was either the worst or best mission Cece had ever taken. The clock had just struck eight, and the Hargreeves had yet to show. The hired robbers were looking obviously confused, as were the handful of hostages that couldn’t quite grasp why the three men wouldn’t leave. They had already gotten all the money, and any other demands they’d made to buy time. The police outside were starting to get antsy, wondering why no escape attempts had been made. 

Cece was sitting in the back room, waiting for the brothers to show their faces so she could eradicate them and move on with her life. On one hand, this meant she got to stay out longer and enjoy the feeling of warm air on her skin and city lights in her eyes, without having to do any work. On the other, this was probably the biggest failure the Belladonna’s had seen in ages. Where the hell were those two idiots? Aren’t they supposed to come running whenever anyone so much as litters? 

Probably thinking the same as her, one of the men burst through the back door. 

“What the hell is going on? The longer we dick around in there the more likely the cops are gonna burst the door down. Where the hell are your two freaks? I gotta get home in time for my son's bedtime story.” The tall, dark man grumbled. 

“Beats me. Though you’re definitely right, we can’t keep wasting time,” Cece thought for a moment, “Go ahead and exit through the roof, I’ll tell the pilot to head over now.” 

“What about Spaceboy and Kraken? Are you just callin it quits?” 

“That’s my mission, not yours. Go home to your kid, I'll worry about those two.” Cece concluded with a smile. 

The man nodded and went out to tell the others, while Cece signaled for her family to send the helicopter to the roof. As the men escaped and the police tried to chase after the chopper in their squad cars, Cece snuck out the back door and into the dark alley. She had a plan that would ensure the completion of her mission and solve a little of her own curiosity. If the brothers wouldn’t come to her, then she’d go to them. 

After all, she’d always wanted to see the inside of the Umbrella Academy. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“Klaus, if you put your damn feet in my face one more time, I'm going to cut off your toes.” 

“OOooo you’re touchy today, are you still upset about Lila making a disappearing act on ya?” Klaus teased back to Diego, removing his feet from the arm of the couch where Diego sat. 

“That’s it, you littl-” 

“Oookay that’s enough of that you two.” Diego was interrupted by Allison, who put her hand on his shoulder to stop him from plundering Klaus. 

“Can we not just get along for one weekend?” She exasperated. 

“Tell that to Mr. Grumpy-ass over there.” 

“Oh, I’m sorry Klaus, I was just trying to decide on which method would be the most efficient to deafen myself, so I don’t have to endure your pathetic whining.” Number Five whipped back at Klaus, who feigned hurt. 

“See?! Such...hostility. Ya know, I miss when you were stuck in another timeline, the positive vibes were significantly higher.” Klaus stated, leaning forward. 

“Well, unluckily for us, you’re annoying in every timeline.” Five snidely remarked. 

“Seriously guys, grow up.” Allison rolled her eyes and leaned back in her chair, crossing her arms. 

“Yeah, Allison’s right guys, let’s all just enjoy the holiday together. It’s been a while since we were able to relax and not worry about some all-consuming apocalypse.” Vanya calmy stated from next to Diego. 

“All of which you caused,” Diego muttered, definitely still grumpy about Lila. 

Luther chuckled awkwardly from the other side of the couch and looked at Allison for help, who just shrugged and took another drink from her wine glass. 

All of a sudden, little footsteps could be heard running into the living room from the foyer. 

“Mommy look, I’m Spaceboy!” Claire exclaimed as she burst through the door, one of Luther’s old astronaut helmets planted on her head, about three sizes too big. 

“That’s great sweetie! Let me know how your trip to the moon goes. I heard some sketchy aliens are running some nasty business up there now that Uncle Luther isn’t keeping an eye on them.” Allison chuckled, smiling over at Luther. 

Claire broke out into a grin and took off running to stop said aliens. Her interruption calmed the tension in the room, and everyone seemed significantly less annoyed than they had thirty seconds prior. 

It was a strange feeling for the siblings, being together to celebrate and not having to save the world; after being the ones to end it of course. After arriving back from Dallas, they discovered that talking with their father had led him to abstain from ever even adopting them. Talk about being a disappointment. They ended up having to return to Dallas and stop themselves from talking to their father, which wasn’t easy considering the whole Paradox Psychosis issue. In the end, both Fives ended up in the hospital, the two Klaus’ was dead-drunk on the floor of Elliot’s, the Diegos conspired an elaborate plan to save JFK, the Luthers cried together over god knows what (Allison, probably), who spent her time glaring at her slightly younger self. Luckily, all Vanya did was explain everything to herself and fawn over Sissy. 

Now that a couple of months had passed by, they’d all decided to live their lives the way they’d always wanted to-together. Allison got part-time custody of Claire, which was a start at least. She also organized a civil rights campaign called Free for All that targeted systematic racial and sexist injustice. 

Klaus had stayed sober...mostly. No more hard drugs or week-long benders, though he did still go out and party. But that was mostly just to numb the pain from losing Dave and Ben, so, understandable. He stayed at the Academy, mostly because he didn’t have his own place, but also to stay close to his brothers. 

Vanya went back to the orchestra as the first chair violinist and had started another book. This one was an anthology, retelling all her siblings’ crazy missions, but with complete honesty. No glorification, just unbridled truth from her siblings themselves. Her goal was to help the public realize that power isn’t all it’s cracked up to be. She still lived in her own apartment, unable to reside alongside her...eccentric brothers, but she stayed in close contact with them. Vanya would often drop by for lunch or invite them to her recitals. 

Diego and Luther were the only two that cared much for fighting crime, at least in a physical sense. Once they’d gotten back, it seemed like an obvious next step to restart The Umbrella Academy. They announced to the world that they would be starting back up and were willing to bring in new recruits. 

Which leads us to Five. After returning from Dallas the first time, he’d been transformed into his eighteen-year-old self. While definitely an improvement, clearly the old man still got the math wrong. He had been the most lost on what to do with his life. After living an entire lifetime in an apocalypse and as an assassin, he didn’t really know what he wanted anymore. When he was a kid, he would’ve told you that he was going to be a theoretical physicist and would conjure up a way to time travel-without powers. Though now he knew that society probably shouldn’t have that technology. 

Overall, he decided to stay at the Academy to make sure his dimwitted brothers didn’t get themselves killed, at least until he knew what he wanted to do with his second life. Besides, he had research to do. After the whole Lila predicament, Five wanted to track down as many of the superpowered people he could find. While his brothers wanted to train and recruit them, he just wanted to ensure there would be no more surprises. 

“When are those burgers going to be ready Donkey Kong? My tummies a rumblin.” Klaus broke the silence. 

Everyone looked at Luther for a moment, who fumbled with an answer, 

“Oh, right, yeah, I forgot about those.” Luther rushed off to the kitchen. 

“I thought I smelt something burning.” Klaus revealed. 

“Actually, I don’t think that’s the food, Klaus.” Allison piped up, leaning forward as she too smelt ash. 

The siblings all sat there for a moment, breathing in a faint aroma of smoke, coming from nearby. 

“What is it then?” Vanya questioned. 

She was answered by a loud rumbling coming from the house, along with a shout from Luther. 

“Hey, uh guys, you should see this!” 

Outback, a girl stood in the center of the garden. She seemed entranced with the architecture of the house, before turning to look at the Hargreeves. Down the street, a firework mishap had gained the attention of the nearby pedestrians. 

“Well, at least we know the building’s not on fire.” Klaus mused. 

Cece turned to look behind her at the smoke rising up into the sky, “Oh yeah, that. Sorry, I just needed a distraction.” 

“A distraction from what, exactly?” Five demanded. 

Cece turned to look at him, azure met chestnut in a deadly stare, and she remembered her families’ warning for a moment. To be honest, she really had not expected them to all be present at the house. 

“From our fight, obviously. Can’t have any interruptions, now can we?” Cece giggled. 

None of the siblings had time to process her statement before Cece had launched into action, hurling her body towards Luther, who stood the closest. In one fluid motion, she’d driven her foot into the side of his face, a record achievement considering she was only 5’3. As Luthur stumbled back, holding his freshly bruised face, Cece whipped out a dagger and attempted to go in for the kill. She only got halfway though, before Number Five had teleported to her and slammed his foot into her knee, causing her to fall back. 

The rest of the Hargreeves jumped into action, understanding now that she was a threat. Vanya and Klaus stood back to let the others have a go first. Klaus because he was lazy, and Vanya because she figured she was more of a last resort. 

As Cece fought with Five, throwing punches and dodging kicks, she understood what her family meant. This little shit really did know what he was doing, she’d never had someone land so many hits on her before, though it excited her. She actually had a reason to use both of her powers, instead of just one. 

As if on cue, Cece decked Five across his jaw and made him stumble back, making Diego step in. He pulled a knife from his belt and swiftly threw it towards her, aiming right for her left shoulder. Though, to the siblings’ shock, it missed. Or, well, more accurately, it went right through her body and into the garden wall behind her. 

“What the hell...” Diego trailed off, “Oh no, not this shit again. I’m so damn tired of meeting women with secret superpowers.” He complained. 

“Well, mine aren’t a very well-kept secret so don’t worry about that.” Cece smirked, enjoying the way they all stared at her in surprise. 

“Why are you attacking us then? This really isn’t the way to get into the Umbrella Academy, you know.” Luther said, dumbfounded. 

“Oh, yeah, dude, are you here for a tryout? Cause we could totally use new members.” Diego excitedly interjected. 

Cece just looked at them for a moment, while Five and Allison rolled their eyes. 

“Are you two just two halves of a whole idiot?” Cece questioned. 

“Sadly, yes. But they’re our village idiot, so I’m going to have to ask that you leave.” Five sassed. 

It was Cece’s turn to roll her eyes, getting fed up with the cockiness radiating from the teen. 

“Sorry buddy, but I’ve got a job to do, and that job involves their corpses. So, ya know, no hard feelings.” 

“Um, yeah, hard feelings. That’s not gonna happen.” Allison severely spoke. 

“We’ll see.” Cece giggled again. 

Five got tired of the banter and decided to act, teleporting right behind Cece, and grabbing one of her braids, or trying to, at least. His hand passed right through her hair and shoulder. She turned just then, and as her foot came up to roundhouse his face, you could see her leg slowly materializing into a solid form. Five’s head snapped to the side and Cece quickly moved to shove Allison from behind her. 

The four siblings attempted to attack her, only to have none of their hits land, but all of hers did. It was impossible to block a punch when her fist could go right through your arm but connect to your face. Allison was getting tired of it and decided to end this already, but Cece had other ideas. 

“Not so fast, girlfriend.” She said, right as she punched Allison in the throat, causing her to wheeze. 

“Hey! How dare you!” Luther bellowed, before charging at Cece full force. 

Cece just rolled her eyes and let Luther run right through her; tripping him as he passed. 

“Okay, I’m bored. Let’s get this over with.” Cece said flatly. 

She suddenly felt a familiar buzz go through her skin, and suddenly she saw the Hargreeves glancing rapidly around the garden. 

“Uh, guys, where the hell did she go? She was just here!” Klaus piped up from against the wall with Vanya. 

Before anyone could say anything else, Diego suddenly fell flat onto the ground, having been hit over the head. He rolled around on the ground, looking exactly like the ex-mental patient he was until a line of blood could be seen coming out from his neck. 

Five blinked over to Diego, kicking at the air on top of him. He heard a feminine gasp and saw a knife reveal itself as it clanged into the stone ground. 

“Heads up, she can make objects invisible as well.” He huffed to his siblings. 

The siblings all stood back to back in a circle, Klaus and Vanya having joined. They looked exactly like the family Cece had always wanted, all lined up together and ready to fight. Ready to stand up for each other, no matter the cost. Cece couldn’t help but be envious. 

As they all looked around rapidly, Cece revealed herself to the circle, standing in front of Vanya, who immediately powered up. The siblings stepped back, knowing Vanya could eviscerate them all in a singular moment. 

But as Vanya locked eyes with Cecilia, she saw herself in her eyes. The same longing, the same hollow misery, the same deep-seated need for validation. And she knew there was no need for any more fighting tonight. 

“You don’t have to do this. Whoever is telling you too, they’re wrong. I can see you don’t want to.” Vanya reasoned with a mellow voice as she powered down. 

Cece just stared back at the brunette woman, mentally noting that her family’s intel was off and that she was definitely not ordinary. But looking into her eyes made Cece feel like maybe that was okay, that having powers didn’t make her a weapon of mass destruction, but simply made her different. And without another word, she quickly disappeared once again. 

She didn’t quite understand what was going on with her, Cece had never had a problem killing her mark before. But something about the way they stood together made her unable to complete her mission. So instead, she opted on going back to the estate, figuring she could think on it while she slept for a few months. 

\--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 

“What the hell, Vanya?!” Five exclaimed when they all sat in the living room. 

Allison was sucking on a cough drop while comforting Claire, who’d hidden in the bathroom as soon as the house shook. Diego and Luther were nursing their bruises with ice packs and discussing the prospect of recruiting Cece. 

“She didn’t want to hurt us Five, I could see it in her eyes. She just hasn’t broken free of whatever is tying her down yet.” Vanya passionately defended. 

“Yeah, well she seemed perfectly happy with almost decapitating our brother, Vanya!” Five yelled. 

“No, I’m with her, Five. Even when she was on top of me trying to kill me, I could tell her heart wasn’t in it.” Diego stated. 

“You don’t get a vote; you have a weakness for women with superpowers who try to kill us.” Five snapped before angrily stomping out of the room, “Now if you’ll excuse me, I have an invisible girl to track down and kill.”


End file.
